From manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing, light industry is moving towards a new direction
China remains the world's largest producer and exporter of light industrial products
From manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing, light industry is moving towards a new direction (highlights and readings of high-quality development)
Light industry involves multiple fields such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation. It is not only related to the people's better life, but also to the growth of the national economy.
Recently, the report card for the development of light industry in the 14th Five Year Plan was released, with three sets of data particularly impressive——
Looking at the industry scale, the number of light industry enterprises in China will reach 136600 in 2024, with an average annual growth rate of 5.89% since 2020; Based on market performance, the retail sales of key light industry products reached 7.93 trillion yuan, accounting for 16.2% of the total retail sales of consumer goods in society; Looking at the export situation, the total export value reached 925.4 billion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 7.17% since 2020.
In recent years, the scale of the light industry economy has steadily increased and the resilience of the industrial chain has significantly strengthened. China has become the world's largest producer and exporter of light industrial products, "said Zhang Chonghe, President of the China Light Industry Federation.
How can light industry grow steadily in the face of internal and external pressures? How can we better achieve high-quality development in the future? The reporter conducted an interview.
Continuous optimization of industrial structure
Dual wheel drive of intelligent upgrading and green transformation
A smart factory reflects the process of digital transformation in the industry.
The robotic arm swings precisely, and a refrigerator can be offline every 10 seconds; "5G+Industrial Internet" has been carefully calculated, and hundreds of spare parts have quickly taken their places... In Jiaozhou City, Qingdao, Shandong Province, in the workshop of Haier Shanghe Refrigerator Interconnection Factory, all kinds of refrigerators are orderly produced on the same production line.
From raw materials entering the factory to intelligent dispatching of production lines, under the scheduling of artificial intelligence, the entire workshop realizes multi model mixed flow on-demand production. "Pointing to the industrial robot performing OEM operations nearby, the factory's process director Yin Dongdong introduced that the OEM process, which used to rely on manual labor and was prone to errors, has now been replaced by artificial intelligence visual positioning technology, basically achieving zero errors. While the product quality has significantly improved, the production capacity has doubled compared to traditional factories. About 5000 high-end refrigerators are produced here every day and shipped to various parts of the world, "said Yin Dongdong.
Demand productivity from intelligence. As of now, Haier has selected 5 factories as outstanding intelligent factories by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, covering multiple fields such as refrigerators, washing machines, and water heaters.
Overall, the application of artificial intelligence technology in the home appliance industry not only leads the industry to accelerate towards the mid to high end, but also provides assistance for the development of the global home appliance industry, "said Jiang Feng, Executive Director of the China Household Appliances Association. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, the proportion of smart home appliances jumped from 38% to 62%, becoming a new engine for industry growth. In 2024, the operating revenue of home appliance owners reached 1.95 trillion yuan, an increase of 31.6% compared to 2020.
During the 14th Five Year Plan period, driven by both intelligent upgrading and green transformation, China's light industry continued to optimize and upgrade. The level of intelligence has significantly improved. 1260 national level 5G factories, with 167 selected in the light industry, accounting for 13%; Industrial Internet is widely used in the industry, covering more than 60% of enterprises above designated size. Significant achievements have been made in green development. As of 2024, 1321 light industry enterprises have been selected as national level green factories, covering industries such as home appliances, papermaking, food, and batteries.
The industry is moving towards the mid to high end of the value chain
Innovation investment continues to increase, and technological achievements continue to emerge
The "72 transformations" of a single yeast, creating innovation and vitality in the concentration industry.
Can yeast only be used for making dough? In the exhibition hall of Angel Group in Yichang City, Hubei Province, a display wall attracts visitors' attention: high sugar yeast is used to make bread, special yeast is used to make wine, yeast extract is hidden in hot pot seasoning, and even yeast protein powder... Hundreds of products with thousands of specifications have made Angel Group a well-known yeast enterprise.
Playing with small yeast to make it bloom is a decades long commitment to innovation. Researchers focus on strain selection and data analysis, efficiently advancing multiple innovative projects and rapidly developing multiple new products. Taking yeast protein as an example, it is extracted from brewing yeast and has a protein content of over 80%, with a very broad market space, "said Zhao Xiaojie, Vice General Manager of the company.
With continuous technological investment, Angel Group has entered the fast lane of development. In the past five years, the compound annual growth rate of R&D investment has reached 16%, and more than 400 authorized invention patents have been obtained. Zhao Xiaojie said that relying on innovation drive, yeast will be integrated into production and life in more diverse product forms in the future.
In recent years, China's overall research and development strength in food technology has significantly increased. The "2024 Report on Innovative Development of China's Food Industry" shows that the average R&D intensity of 11 bio fermentation enterprises reached 3.6% in 2024, higher than the average level of 2.9% in the top 100 light industry technology companies. China's food industry has achieved a transformation from a single follower to a follower, running in parallel, and leading, supporting the industry's transformation from standardized agricultural products and food initial processing to quality-oriented deep manufacturing and creation.
Not only in the food industry. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, with technological innovation as the core driving force, light industry enterprises will accelerate the construction of a collaborative innovation system for industry, academia, research and application, and promote the industry to leap towards the middle and high end of the value chain. "Zhang Chonghe introduced.
Innovation investment continues to increase. The R&D investment intensity of the entire industry has increased from 1.72% at the end of the 13th Five Year Plan to 2.31% by 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 9.2%.
Abundant achievements in technological innovation. According to incomplete statistics, as of now, the light industry has been granted over 1.79 million invention patents, and the number of valid invention patents has increased from 127000 in 2020 to 214000 in 2024, with an average annual growth rate of 12.3%.
Further consolidation of market competitive advantage
Persist in supply innovation, channel upgrading, and open cooperation
A brand going global, witnessing the market advantages of the industry.
In the production workshop of Yinsanhuan Machinery Co., Ltd. in Huadu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, nearly 30 automated assembly lines operate efficiently. Bicycles with the Qianlida brand logo are assembled one by one and quickly shipped to more than 70 countries and regions.
Since going global in 2016, we have established localized production bases in multiple countries such as India, "said Li Li, Vice President of Operations at Trinidad and Tobago. The company has launched cost-effective mountain bikes tailored to the characteristics of the Southeast Asian market; To meet the needs of high-end European users, we have independently developed smart electric assisted vehicles. The precise product strategy has enabled our overseas business to maintain an average annual growth rate of over 20%, "said Li Liwei.
In the second half of going global, we need to shift from high-quality manufacturing to brands with stories. "Li Liwei introduced that at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Italian national team will compete on high-end racing bicycles from the Trinidad brand. By entering the market through competitions, the company has quickly become one of the top competitors in the global competitive bicycle industry, while also effectively enhancing the international reputation of its own brand.
In recent years, the international influence of China's bicycle industry has steadily increased. "From 2020 to 2024, the industry has exported 259 million bicycles in total, with an export value of 17.711 billion US dollars, of which the export value to countries jointly building the" the Belt and Road "accounted for 40.7%, 8.2 percentage points higher than the end of the" 13th Five Year Plan "." The person in charge of the China Bicycle Association introduced.
During the 14th Five Year Plan period, light industry further consolidated its market competitive advantage through supply innovation, channel upgrading, and open cooperation.
Maintain a leading export share. In 2024, the total export value of light industry accounted for 25.9% of the country's total export value, maintaining the first place in the country for five consecutive years.
The diversified market is constantly expanding. From 2020 to 2024, the proportion of exports of light industrial products to countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" will increase from 30% to 33%, and the proportion of exports to ASEAN will increase from 13.7% to 15%, making the international market layout more reasonable.
At the same time, the domestic consumer market is being upgraded and expanded. The retail sales of key light industry products increased from 5.98 trillion yuan in 2020 to 7.93 trillion yuan in 2024, with an average annual growth rate of 7.29%. The proportion of domestic sales has steadily increased, from 87.2% in 2020 to 87.4% in 2024, and the fundamental role of light industry consumption in economic growth continues to strengthen.
Looking back on the 14th Five Year Plan, significant achievements have been made; Looking ahead to the 15th Five Year Plan, opportunities and challenges coexist. Light industry will continue to enhance its innovation capabilities, brand influence, and sustainable development capabilities, striving to cultivate more than 10 globally renowned brands and more than 50 regional characteristic brands by 2030, and maintain the world's first international market share for light industrial products, "said Zhang Chonghe.